Honoring Innovation

Can you measure up in our Masters of Design contest?

READER RESPONSE

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The April 15 issue of Business Week featured a list of the 50 most innovative companies as determined by an independent firm, Boston Consulting Group.

A lot of the companies made sense to me, and I’m fairly
certain you would agree that they deserve to be honored. The list
included Apple, Google, Microsoft, Intel, IBM, Disney, Nintendo and
Ford, all firms at the top of their respective markets that have
taken novel approaches to various challenges.

Also on the list was Coca Cola, which was recognized for bringing
“a flash of high-tech wizardry to its fountain drink
dispensing system,” and Wal-Mart “for driving down
supply-chain costs.” (But really, is that any more innovative
than actually providing its employees with health insurance, or
straightening up its cluttered aisles?)

But noticeably absent were the really innovative companies such as
Abbott Labs, for developing cutting-edge diagnostic tools, or
Pfizer, for its game-changing antibiotic Zirthomax. Another winner,
I thought, should have been Boeing, for manufacturing the 787 using
ultra-light fiberglass instead of aluminum.

You’re probably coming up with of all sorts of candidates
right now as well.

Then I thought, “Wouldn’t it be better if Business
Week readers submitted their own nominations instead of some
stuffy, probably overpaid consulting company choosing the
winners?” And what if the magazine solicited opinions from
experts in the appropriate fields – from search engines to
automotive technology?

My mind then turned to our industry, and what Pool & Spa
News seeks to do by collecting entries for our annual Masters
of Design contest.

The issue celebrates the best projects in the pool and spa industry
and the visionaries who created them.

Every year after it is published I receive calls from readers
stating, “I only wish I had known about this awards
competition! I would have submitted a fabulous project to
you.” (In our defense, we do e-blast all subscribers and run
ads in the magazine.)

Do you think you can measure up? If so, click on “Masters of Design,” and you’re on your way. Or, send us via “snail mail” photos of your best projects in the following categories:

Concrete Pools

Waterfeatures

Fiberglass Pools

Spas (portable or inground)

Package / Vinyl Liner Pools

Renovation Projects

But whatever you do, don’t tell me after all the winners are published that you didn’t know, because I’ll just say, “I told you so.”